Sound Devices Astral Wireless v8.40 Adds Mini Plus Support

Sound Devices has published version 8.40 of the firmware for its Astral Wireless system. The update adds support for the Astral Mini Plus bodypack transmitter and brings changes to startup, setup memory, monitoring and remote control across Astral receivers and transmitters.

Setup and everyday operation

Astral ARX8, ARX16 and ARX32 receivers now start up faster. Quick Setup memory has grown from four slots to eight, so more configurations can be stored and recalled. Firmware updates for Astral Outpost are now handled from a single central menu instead of separate steps. In Mirror Mode, functions such as ID and Nexlink antenna selection can be reached from secondary receivers.

Control and automation

• Display colours on handheld transmitters can be assigned through AstralComm and DiGiCo macros.
• AstralComm macros can be triggered and tested locally on an ARX receiver or through the webGUI, with test notifications.
• The global receiver output gain range now runs from -20 to 40 dB.

Monitoring and safeguards

ARX receivers now show the battery level of Astral TX transmitters as a percentage. An optional confirmation step before power-off guards against accidental shutdowns. The Factory Defaults function now performs a complete reset that also unpairs transmitters and empties the memory slots. After a power cycle, the tone generator now turns itself off, so no tone goes out when the system is switched back on. Sound Devices groups these changes under faster operation, refined control, wider gain range and more predictable behaviour.